I am 38 years old this year and have been trading cryptocurrencies for 6 years. Along the way, I have experienced liquidation, lost money, and witnessed assets doubling from 500,000 to 35 million.
Many people ask me what the secret is, but it's actually very simple: stick to discipline and completely eliminate fantasies.
What truly changed my fate was a self-examination four years ago. That day, I organized all my trading records: out of more than 1,000 trades, profits were less than 1/3, while losses exceeded 700, with over 200 being significant losses. It was clear that my losses were not due to the market being 'too difficult', but rather due to greed and unwillingness to admit mistakes.
Being reluctant to make profits and unwilling to stop losses, this cycle will eventually lead to small profits, big losses, and overall losses.
This list, like a magic mirror, allowed me to face the "root cause" of my trading for the first time.
1. Root Issues of the Transaction
1. Greed
When you predict the market correctly, you dream of reaping the last bite of profit; when you predict the wrong direction, you dream of a reversal. The result is that profits are halved and losses are magnified.
2. Blindness
Many small losses come from "unclear entry points"—forcing a trade even when the market is murky and the thinking is unclear, relying on luck. You may get it right a few times in the short term, but in the long run, you'll just end up being boiled like a frog in warm water.
3. Emotional
Fear makes people miss opportunities, while excitement makes people blindly increase their positions. When trading is swept up by emotions, people eventually lose their judgment.
If these three points cannot be addressed, any technology and indicators will be in vain.
2. The trading framework I established
After reflection, I spent several years systematizing "cognition-method-discipline" and finally embarked on the path of stable profitability.
1. Money management: life first
Funds are divided into three sections: short-term trial position/trend position/life-saving position.
A margin call would at most cost you a finger, but losing all your capital would be like losing your head. Without capital, no opportunity would matter to you.
2. Trend is king: Eat only the fish body
When the trend is unclear, it is better to keep a short position rather than being a "deliverer" in the volatility.
Only recognize three types of signals: bullish arrangement of moving averages/large volume breakthrough of previous high/stable closing of daily lines.
When the profit reaches 30% of the principal, pocket half first and set a 10% moving stop-loss for the remaining profit.
3. Rollover method: adding to floating profits + T-trading the base position
Add to positions with floating profits: only add to positions when the cost of holding positions decreases and the trend is clear, not when there is a profit.
Base position + T: retain the core position, flexibly roll a part of it to buy high and sell low, reduce costs and expand profits.
The ratio is adjusted according to risk preference: half position, 30%, 70%, which varies from person to person.
4. Discipline: Mechanical Execution
The stop loss for each order shall not exceed 3%, and the stop loss shall be pushed to the cost when the profit reaches 10%.
Maintain a fixed schedule, turn off the computer at midnight, and don’t be led by the K-line.
There are market trends every day, but if you lose your principal, you lose everything.
3. Mentality and Cognition: The Watershed of Professional Traders
Technology can be imitated, but cognition and mentality are the key to long-term survival.
Mindset: Trading is not an exciting game. Excitement and fear will destroy rationality. Professional traders use their brains, not hormones.
Human nature: Amateur players always want to make frequent moves, want to get more and faster, and end up dying from unnecessary losses.
Cognition: Accept market uncertainty. There's no guaranteed win system; there's only one that manages risk and puts the odds on your side.
4. A way out for ordinary people
The cryptocurrency world is not about "one out of ten" but "one out of a thousand". Most people can't make money, not because there are few opportunities, but because:
Without knowing yourself, you just want to get rich overnight;
Not keeping the principal, always wanting to "make a small fortune";
There is no systematic method, only relying on emotions and fantasies.
The correct path is simple:
Training in a bear market: learn, practice, and summarize. Even if you are short, you can still outperform 90% of people.
Cycle awareness: Believe in the bull-bear pattern, plan in a bear market, and cash in on a bull market.
Improve carrying capacity: Before your wealth grows, improve your mentality and cognition first, otherwise what you earn will be lost sooner or later.
V. Conclusion
What I want to say is:
In this market, no one can take risks for you. Teachers, group leaders, and friends cannot help you protect your principal.
The only one who can save you is yourself:
Clear cognition,
Strict discipline,
Continuous learning.
There is no invincible trading system, only people who can execute the system to perfection.
In the cryptocurrency world, making money depends on market conditions, and survival depends on rules.
Stick to the rules and the market will reward you sooner or later.
In the cryptocurrency world, "making a living by trading" sounds like a modern wealth myth, attracting countless people to follow suit.
The square is filled with stories of "50,000 becoming 50 million," glittering and swift, as if success can be copied and pasted. But the reality is often a pile of shattered dreams.
I have seen too many traders like this: they have little capital but big ambitions, trying to turn their lives around with the help of high leverage and a single go.
The result? Instead of experiencing a miracle, the vast majority of people end up wasting their money and enthusiasm in a cycle of “stop loss – margin call – re-deposit – margin call again.”
The reason why the stories of getting rich quickly that we hear are widely circulated is precisely because they are as scarce as rain in the desert; while the silent majority have already left in disgrace.
Trading, at its core, is a game of chance and human nature. There's no such thing as "stable, exorbitant profits." If you truly want to make a living from it, you must first honestly answer two questions:
First, can you really accept failure?
Many people only imagine the scene of profit, but never really prepare to face losses.
Once you encounter continuous pullbacks, emotions will easily dominate your decision-making: frequently changing strategies, retaliatory increases in positions, unwillingness to stop losses... These behaviors will only make you sink deeper and deeper.
The true trading survival rule is: consider risks first, then pursue returns. Always leave a way out and never push all your capital into the battlefield.
Second, do you dare to have your transaction records scrutinized carefully?
Many people, after a few profitable days, become confident they can trade full-time, yet never review their capital curve: Is it trending upward over the long term? What is the maximum drawdown? Do they have a strict risk control system in place? Impulsiveness, taking chances, and the desire for quick results are the three most difficult obstacles for ordinary people to overcome.
Good traders don't seek overnight wealth, but rather sustainable survival. They keep their positions small, diversified, and disciplined, resisting the temptation to go all in.
The cryptocurrency market is volatile, and while there are many opportunities, there are even more traps. Survival is far more important than making a quick buck.
If you are still determined to take this path, please let go of your obsession with stories of getting rich quickly and pay more attention to the lessons of failure; don’t just focus on profits, but also manage risks.
🚀The direction is hidden in the volume. A sharp rise and a slow fall are often the main force buying up the goods; and a sudden big waterfall after a sharp rise is the real signal of harvesting.
🚂Don't reach out during a flash crash. If the price drops quickly and rises slowly, it is likely that the stock is being sold. The rebound after a flash crash is not an opportunity, but a trap.
🌕High positions without volume are the most dangerous. A large volume at the top does not necessarily mean an immediate collapse, but if the high position shrinks and goes sideways for a long time, the storm may be not far away.
🌞The bottom must be confirmed. A single large volume increase is not considered to be the bottom. It is the real time to enter the market after continuous shrinking and oscillation, and then another large volume increase.
⭐K-line is the result, volume is the language. Emotions are all in the trading volume: shrinking volume means coldness, and expanding volume means capital entering the market. To understand the volume is to understand the heartbeat of the market.
🔥In the end, the key to success in trading is your mentality. Dare to be short, don't be obsessed; don't be greedy or afraid, don't chase the rise or fall. This is not Buddhism, this is the top mentality.
There is no shortage of opportunities in the cryptocurrency world, what is lacking is calmness and execution
Many people are not incapable, but are just going around in circles in the dark.
Because I have stepped on the pit, I am more willing to light a lamp for those who come after me.
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A must-read in the bull market: Learn these tricks and save yourself three years of detours!
1. In a bull market, the hotter the currency, the faster and more severe its fall.
2. Real potential coins, hundred-fold coins, no one will vigorously promote them in the market. Instead, only a few people in the early stage (low traffic) will occasionally talk about them briefly.
3. Market capitalization, number of listed exchanges, number of holdings, investment institutions, etc. are not reliable references for currency selection.
4. The market always changes in a flat curve.
5. There are always predators in the market who are watching the market.
6. The same pull-up operation method will also be used for altcoins during a longer rebound period.
7. For new coins, don’t touch those that rise sharply and then fall sharply.
8. Similarly, there are always predators in the market who chase rising prices and sell when prices fall.
9. Buy and it goes down, sell and it goes up, just like social rules and systems, you can't change them.
10. The price does not fall after buying, but rises instead, with a profit of 5% to 20%, and then suddenly starts to fall, which means that this coin is about to start collecting money and cutting leeks.
11. The one with the strongest rebound is definitely not the potential coin.
12. In a bull market, bet on a rebound and choose currencies with larger gains and current hot spots.
13. Holding a view that is opposite to the majority’s opinion can often lead to a breakthrough.
14. In the bull market, following the rise and fall of Bitcoin, the sharp fluctuations in its rise and fall are definitely the currency with the greatest potential in this bull market.
After 6 years of working in the cryptocurrency industry and three contract liquidations, I found a way to survive.
Contracts are used to control positions and magnify profits, while spot positions are used to support the principal. Relying on these two points, I have avoided the pitfalls that most people fall into.
When I first came into contact with contracts, I also thought it was a shortcut to making quick money, so I went all in and leveraged it, but my account was wiped out after a few mistakes.
Later I understood that contracts are not gambling tables at all, but rather tools for hedging risks. When institutions hold Bitcoin, they open short positions to offset losses from falling prices.
Yet, retail investors often use leverage as a way to "gamble big with a small investment," recklessly adding leverage regardless of market conditions, ultimately being ripped off by the market. To survive in contracts, first remember that leverage is a tool.
I learned the importance of stop-loss from my own losses. In my early years, I opened orders worth 10 times my initial risk, hoping for a rebound after a 2% drop. The longer I waited, the more I lost, until I was forced to liquidate my position.
Now I always set a stop loss before opening an order. For a 5x leverage, I set it to 1%-2%, and for a 2x leverage, I relax it to 3%-5%. I never dare to take chances.
Even though it’s painful to have your stop loss hit sometimes, it’s better than losing all your capital - there’s no iron bottom in the cryptocurrency world, and stop loss is the key to saving your life.
Catching trends is much more reliable than opening orders every day. In the past, I always thought about short-term speculation, and made frequent operations every day. After taking into account the fees and slippage, I would lose money after working hard for a long time.
Later I found out that there are only 2-3 real one-sided market trends in a year. Seizing one of them to roll over a contract can earn you more than making ten short-term trades during the market volatility.
Moreover, the timing of entry is very important. It is easy to get trapped by chasing rising and falling prices for fear of missing out. It is better to wait until the rise pulls back to the support level or the fall rebounds to the resistance level before taking action. Although you will miss some market opportunities, you can avoid most traps.
Now I understand that in trading, mindset is more important than technique. There are many people who can read candlestick charts and understand indicators, but few can control their hands and maintain discipline.
Predicting the market correctly isn't a skill; holding onto a position when you're right and being able to stop losses when you're wrong is the real skill. Don't be afraid of missing out on opportunities, nor are you afraid of small pullbacks. Only by maintaining rationality and patience can you stay in the cryptocurrency world for a long time.
After ten years of working in the cryptocurrency world, my most profound experience is:
Those "high-IQ trading models" that are touted as magical are often traps that harvest ordinary people.
What really helps you preserve your capital and make money over the long term is a few simple rules that are so stupid that no one wants to learn them.
There is no need to calculate complicated formulas or keep an eye on obscure indicators. As long as you stick to discipline, it is much more reliable than following the trend.
Don't waste your energy searching for a "magic indicator." There's no tool in the market that can accurately predict market fluctuations. Instead of worrying about complex parameters, focus on the most reliable trend signals:
For example, after a currency has fallen for several days, it no longer reaches a new low and begins to stabilize slightly. This is closer to the bottom opportunity than any model;
On the contrary, if after continuous rises, the rate of increase slows down significantly and occasional large negative pullbacks occur, you should be alert to top risks.
There are two iron rules that must be remembered:
First, after a continuous surge, even if the momentum is strong, you should proactively reduce your holdings by 80%. This is because after a short-term rapid rise, the probability of a subsequent correction is much higher than if the market continues to rise. Cashing in early can help you avoid "losing all your profits";
Second, if the stock has been trading sideways for more than three days and has not been able to break through the key price, don't hold on to the illusion of "waiting for a breakthrough". It is right to leave the market decisively - the longer it trades sideways, once the direction changes, the greater the decline will often be.
There is another key signal that cannot be ignored: high volume but no rise. Trading volume is the most real trace of funds in the market.
If the price rises to a high level, the trading volume increases but the price stagnates, it means that funds are quietly leaving the market. If you don't run away at this time, you may be left guarding at a high level.
In addition, don’t think about “eating the whole fish”. It is enough to just earn the most certain 20%-30% in the middle. Greedy pursuit of profits at the head and tail will easily lead to failure.
